Ira Glass

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I tend to read more nonfiction than fiction. One recent favorite is Bill Buford's Among the Thugs, which is about British soccer hooligans. It's detailed and insightful and compelling-exactly what journalism should be. When I read a really good book, I sometimes think about how it would sound on the radio. For instance, while I was reading Michael Lewis' new book, The New New Thing, I found myself counting the paragraphs in places, thinking how I could put it on the air.

What artists do you most admire?

One visual artist I adore is Jennifer Bartlett. I don't know much about her, but she's absolutely amazing.

Are you a moviegoer?

I like to be surprised by movies, so I never read reviews before I see them. I even hate trailers. I like to close my eyes during a trailer and just listen to the narration. They often use this crazy formula that went out of style in the 1940s. It's the corniest thing, and I can't believe they're still doing it today: 'She was a woman with a secret. He was the man who could find out.'

OK, but have you seen any films that you've liked lately?

Three Kings was inspiring. It was a piece of pure pop-adventure pleasure, but at the same time it was as profound as anything you see in the media today. When was the last time any of us have taken the time to talk about U.S. intervention overseas? This movie did that. And George Clooney was great. I also loved South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, which is a musical so inventive and well written I still find myself singing some of the songs from memory. If I can achieve anything as good as that in this lifetime, I will have accomplished something.

What magazines do you read?

I buy Harper's every month because I'm supposed to, but I usually find it unreadable. The one magazine where I do consistently find something I want to read is The New Republic. When I'm at the airport I sometimes buy MacWorld, which is compelling in a nerdy-boy kind of way. I hate to admit it, but I know the world of Mac magazines well enough to tell you that there are good ones and bad ones.

Where do you get your news?

My consumption of the culture-especially the news-falls somewhere between sporadic and nonexistent. I look at Salon occasionally. I sometimes look at Slate, but most of the time I can go for weeks or even months without knowing what's going on in the world. Maybe it's because I worked on a daily news show for a decade, but it's just not my thing anymore.

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